The $3,000,000 Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated by President Roosevelt (left) on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birthday. At that time, the statue of Jefferson had not yet been finished,due to material shortages during World War II. The statue that was installed at the time was a plaster cast of the sculptors work that had been painted to look like bronze. The finished bronzestatue was installed in 1947.